Almost
by Phlar
Summary: This is pretty much about a girl getting changed into a vampire and how her boyfriend who is cousins to edward deals with it.
1. Chapter 1

Willa Rosenly is a senior at Virginia Beach Central Academy. She is seventeen years old with beautiful, blonde, silky hair resting just below her shoulder blades. Her eyes, the calming blue of the sea just after a terrible storm. A few freckles pin-pricked themselves around her eyes leaving the rest of her skin creamy and undisturbed.

"Don't you understand? Willa? We are about to graduate! OUT-OF-SCHOOL," came the familiar voice of Anna-Michelle, whose friends just called her Mickey. Mickey's hair is short, dark, and spikey. Her frame is tall and thin like a dancer.

"Are you going to get past that anytime soon?" replied Willa. As if responding to Willa's question, Mickey began to sing, _"No more pencils, No more books, No more teacher's dirty looks,"_ Willa just rolled her eyes. She was used to Mickey's crazy antics.

The day went by in a blur for Willa. She was so excited, for her date tonight, that she almost forgot to breathe. Julius, the mysterious boyfriend, was on his way back from his family vacation spot in the Canadian mountains. Quite often, Julius' family vacationed there to escape from the humidity in Virginia. Willa didn't think anyone like Julius belonged in a dark wooded cabin. Julius belonged in the super-model world. He was tall at 6'2, and a very muscular 215 lbs. His hair a golden brown and slightly curled. Julius had a style all his own. He sometimes seemed almost a beach bum, a gorgeous and pale, beach bum model.

Willa hurried to her car as soon as school let out. Her car was the best car in the lot. It was the newest and shiniest, showing obvious wealth. Though she didn't know the type of the car, her father had often boasted about his daughters 'red, Mercedes Convertable'. She scrambled for her keys while her cell phone began to ring a familiar pop song.

"Yea?" came her rather annoyed voice, surprising even her.

"Willa? Where are you? Our hair appointment is in ten minutes! Julian will not be happy with you, he told you the last time that you were late, he will not take you as a walk in!" Her mother was extremely spoiled. Willa's father had struck gold, in some lawyer business, back in the 80's.

"Yea mom, I had school. I told you that when you made the damned appointment." she replied angrily, finally finding her keys.

"Whatever, do your own goddamned hair and look like a street whore! Julius will just find a pretty girlfriend who cares how he feels when he takes her out and she looks like an unlucky alley find!"

Those were her mothers last words as she hung up the phone. Willa saw no more difference in her mother today, than she had in her whole life. Her mother was the kind of rich housewife who thought money was more important than people, sometimes even life itself.

Even so, Willa turned on her car and a beautiful heartbreak melody was playing. The drive home seemed much longer today than in had any other day of the year. Her nerves were much more edgy today. Julius had been gone for two weeks. _"Two weeks of hiding in that dark and damp cabin, and he's finally coming home,"_ Willa thought to herself.

Two minutes later, she was pulling into the driveway. She shut the engine off and leaned her head back on the head rest for just a moment. She needed to prepare herself for the fact that she had no idea what she would say to Julius. They weren't much for talking. She guessed they just looked pretty together, but, she still loved him. A moment later, she opened her eyes, realizing that she hadn't even planned what she would wear tonight. She didn't even know where he was taking her. With that thought, she grabbed her purse, and climbed out of the car. As she walked the cement path to her doorstep, she scanned the yard. Something was different. She stopped, gazing, trying to figure out what it was that was so different today. The gardener was gardening, as usual. His caramel brown curls sticking out from under his white cap. The five cars were all parked in the same place, the same way that they were everyday. Finally, deciding she couldn't spare another moment for the yard, she hurried into the house.

As she stepped inside the door, onto the beige marble tile, she slipped her shoes off and put her purse on the small table next to the doorway. She then slipped her shoes off and walked past the enormous staircase, and beautiful Greek paintings, straight towards the kitchen.

"Hi daddy," she said hugging him, from the side, around his neck, and kissing his cheek.

"Good afternoon, Princess. How was school?" he replied. Her father was a big man, dressed in a professional suit that made other lawyers cower. He had salt & pepper hair, he was fairly tan, and had so many wrinkles that his age, in a glance, was undeterminable.

"Good. Anna-Michelle was going almost postal over graduation again," she responded. "Daddy, I'm going to go up to my room and study for my physics exam, before my date tonight, okay?" She slipped in the bit about the date so that her father would be reminded that she was growing up, but not too fast to try to let him catch up with her. As she imagined it would, her plan worked,

"That's my girl, go get your education Princess," he replied.

Willa hurried from the room, picking up her shoes at the door. She made her way up the marble staircase, and onto the landing. Six doors down the west hallway lined, with statues of Greek gods and goddesses and old paintings, she opened the door to her room.

The room was the perfect ballerina room. There was a king sized canopy bed, on the wall immediately in front of the door. The frame of the bed and the dresser were both oak wood with a deep cherry finish. The canopy was a soft pink, mesh curtain, easily drawn in at all sides. On either side of the bed, there was a window, curtained by the same soft pink curtains. Her walls all painted a light pink; the perfect palace for daddy's little princess.

Willa rushed to her room sized closet, across from her bed. She tried on clothes for every occasion, for at least an hour before finally finding 'the perfect outfit'. She had decided on a pink, three quarter sleeve polo shirt from American Eagle Outfitters, a snug pair of jeans also from American Eagle, topped with a denim jacket, silver hoop earrings, and her pink Adidas tennis shoes. She was applying lip gloss in the mirror when her phone began to ring that familiar pop song again.

"Hello," her voice came all to hopeful.

"Oh Will, it's so good to hear your voice," it was Julius, he hadn't forgotten her, he still needed her like she needed him.

"Oh Juls, I miss you so much, I'm so happy you're home, I love you!" she sad in a string of fast spoken, and barely separated words.

"I love you too, are you about ready?" he asked, in a voice that was border lining between impatient and hopeful.

"I've _been_ ready," she replied.

The phone was instantly dead. Only moments later she was bounding down the stairs to let him in. Her father met her at the door with a fierce look, like he was afraid she wasn't going to come home. He always had that look when she went out with Julius. She let him open the door, that's what he wanted.


	2. Chapter 2

"Good evening, Mr. Rosenly," came Julius' smooth voice. Willa almost melted on the spot, just seeing his super-model figure on her doorstep, that was the last place he belonged.

"Hello Julius," her father said in a stern voice that intimidated every opponent he came across, because that's what Julius was, an opponent. "Where are you taking my daughter tonight?"

Julius glanced at Willa and hesitated, "Sir, if you don't mind, that is a surprise."

With hesitation in every syllable, Mr. Rosenly said, "Alright, but you had better have her home early." Then, with only a protective look towards his daughter, he turned and walked back to the kitchen.

"You look so tempting," the words just slipped out so quickly that Julius hardly had time to think them. Willa's face flushed with embarrassment,

"Thank you," was all she could manage to stammer out.

Julius slid his arm around her waist and led her out into the Autumn sun. Her hair shimmered strawberry blonde in the faint sunlight. Without hesitation, he opened the passenger side door for her. He must have sprinted around the back of the car, because she didn't see him walk around the front. He opened the door, slid into the drivers seat, and smiled at her so warmly that the look in his eyes could have been mistaken for unbearable hunger. It wasn't until he smoothly pulled his Porsche Carrera GT into a parking space that she realized they were there.

Again, Willa had to wonder how he managed to slip out of seat and around to her door before she even had time to get her seatbelt off. Julius, was a great boyfriend, the kind you would see on an old movie; holding open a door, or putting his coat over a puddle for his lady. The perfect gentleman.

"Wow, _Giardino Ristorante_ huh? Italian is my favorite you know," Willa said, in a slight daze.

Though she had been here many times with her mother, everything was a new experience with Julius. He added so much class to everything. Julius, smiling, obviously amused by her daze, took Willa by the hand and led her across the brick parking lot, into the old Italian restaurant. A stuffy teenage boy, no older than Willa, greeted them at the door.

"Smoking or Non," he asked, though he looked at them as if daring them to choose smoking, because he himself _knew_ they couldn't possibly be old enough to have the choice.

"Non," Julius said cooly, "in the back please."

The boy looked at Willa as if expecting her to whine in protest, because he was sure that's what all rich girls with good looking boyfriends acted like. After a moment, he walked them to a booth in the back of the dining room where only two couples dined. Neither of them were in hearing distance, just what he wanted. They both voiced their thanks as Julius waited for Willa to sit before taking his own seat.

"Your server will be with you momentarily. For the time being, you may look at these menus," he said as he sat two menus down in front of them, then he walked away.

"How were you while I was away?" Julius asked casually.

"A little bored, all Mickey could do was ramble on about graduating. I swear sometimes she never shuts up." she replied, hoping she hadn't upset him.

Julius didn't get a chance to respond, as the waiter had appeared. The boy looked a few years older than Willa. His beautiful caramel colored hair spiraled into a few wild curls. He was a tall, pale boy. Just an inch or so shorter than Julius. He was not scrawny in any way, his muscular arms and chest slightly bulging through his shirt._"Good evening, My name is Riley and I shall be your server this evening. May I get you some drinks?" _His eyes, the most beautiful shade of emerald that Willa had ever seen.

"Willa?" Julius said quietly, but very sharply.

"Yes?" She asked, tearing her face away from the boys eyes.

"Your drink," he growled softly, his voice showing slight pain.

"Oh, Sweet-Tea, please," she said, looking back into the waiters face.

Every time she had been here with her mother she had always gotten some stuck up blonde waitress. Why did she have to get this gorgeous god-like figure while with _Julius_?

"I'm sorry Juls... I just like his eyes, they're emerald. I've never seen a color so-" she stopped. This wasn't what he had wanted to hear.

"How were the mountains?" the waiter returned and sat the drinks down in front of Julius and Willa, "Did you hunt at all?" with that the waiter snapped his head towards Julius with surprising speed.

"Is there a problem?" Julius snarled to the boy.

"No sir, I just enjoy hunting as well, that's all," the boy said, then asking for their orders.

"Darling, let's talk about you. You must have done some shopping while I was away," Julius said, and the waiter turned to walk away, lingering to hear what he could.

Knowing Julius was obviously in a mood, she began to talk of shoes and dresses; things that seemed so mundane to her, things she _should_ care about. The waiter came back several times throughout their meal, then to bring the check. Julius slipped a couple twenties into the bill folder and they waited for his change. As the two of them stood, the waiter returned with Julius' change.

"Here is your tip. Maybe next time you will keep your mind on professional matters, not the guest." Julius said, slipping him a twenty.

"Let's go Will," he said, slipping his arm around her as he did before, but, this time it was territorial.

This was the second quiet drive home that Willa had to make today. Realizing they were almost to her street, and not wanting to end their night badly, she spoke quietly:

"Juls, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I'm very glad you're home."

Without a response, he pulled into her drive way, put the car in park, and shut the engine off. Suddenly and smoothly he leaned over and pressed his lips to hers. He sat there like that for a moment, it seemed that he was waiting for something. Then, he pulled away just as suddenly, and got out of the car. Willa opened her own door this time, but Julius' hand was there waiting to lift her from the car to the concrete. She took his hand and he helped her out of the car. They walked silently to the door. When she turned to say something, he said "Goodnight Willa," cutting her off. She smiled weakly and went inside, closing the door behind her. She waited there by the door to hear him walk back to his car, start the engine and speed off.

Willa could hear her mother arguing with her father over something unimportant, and decided she didn't want to have to relive the nights events to her mother while listening to cruel comments from her. So, she quickly tip-toed to her room.

She opened her door to the familiar pink palace which she had always run to with a problem. There was a slight breeze, she noticed the window was still open, so she walked over to shut it and hear a muffled cough. Startled, she leaned out of her window looking for the person who had coughed, finding nothing but dark shadows. Finally, deciding she had imagined the noise, she pulled the window closed. Then she slipped off her clothes and dug for one of Julius' old shirts he had left at her house. Tears began to stream down her face, as she pulled one on, and she began to realize just how unbelievably confused, angry, and tired she was.

In an easy escape, Willa pulled back the pink quilt, her grandmother had made her before she died three years ago, and the light pink comforter. She then slipped her bare legs deep down into the sheets, pulling the rest of the comforter over her body as she rolled onto her side and cried herself to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

1Willa woke to a soft tapping at her door and warm sunlight on her face.

"Willa? Are you awake?" came the soft whisper of her father's deep voice.

"Yes daddy, I'm awake," she said, sitting up.

Her door slowly opened and her father peaked his head in as if trying not to wake her if she had been lying and still asleep. She smiled at him as best she could. He then opened the door fully to reveal an already dressed man. He walked over to her bed.

"How was your night? Not too late I hope," he said in that fatherly tone.

"I was home pretty early, daddy. I wanted to get some sleep for my exam," she yawned.

Stalling for time he said "Where did he take you?"

"My favorite Italian restaurant," she smiled weakly, remembering the past night's events and wanting to crawl back into the covers.

Sitting down on the edge of her bed, he smiled at her, his big teddy bear eyes sparkling the way they did, he said "Princess, I just want you to be happy with what's best for you. I don't want you to turn out like, your mother," he said with the ache of honesty in his eyes.

"I love you, daddy," she suddenly longed to be five years old again, to crawl into her fathers loving arms.

"I love you too Princess, but you do know I have to get back to work. Have fun today, go to the beach with Anna-Michelle or something," he said as left her alone in her room. Willa got up, went to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. She returned to her room and went to the window and threw it open, crossed the room and opened the other window. The breeze was warm. Maybe today wouldn't be a total waste of time. Willa walked to her closet, pulled out a denim mini-skirt, and a white back tie halter top. She pulled them on and began digging for shoes, finally finding the white high heels she was looking for. She strapped them on, and brushed her hair. Then she walked to her bed, picked up her purse and walked down stairs to the kitchen.

"Good morning whore bag," came her mother's voice from behind paper.

"Good morning mother," Willa didn't feel the need for a petty comeback.

Just then her phone started to ring. Willa looked down at the Caller ID, not Julius, but Mickey.

"Hello,"

"Hey hun, how's it going?"

"It's going okay, you want to do something today? Like shopping or hitting the beach," Willa secretly pleaded.

"Sounds like a plan. I'll pick you up in twenty?"

"C-ya then,"

Then the line died. If Julius wasn't going to call her, she didn't care. Ten minutes later Willa was on her way to Mickey's house. Mickey lived in a not so rich neighborhood, where the doors stay locked all of the time. When Willa got there, Mickey was standing outside as usual. Willa stopped the car so Mickey could get in.

So, how was your date last night? Did you get any?" rarely did Mickey think before she spoke.

"To be honest, I'm trying to keep off of that subject at all costs today," Willa said.

Mickey, as if reading Willa's mind, turned up the radio full blast. Some old Beastie Boys song was playing as they sung along. They soon pulled into the mall parking lot and noticed a group of guys they knew from school. Willa quickly swung her car around into the spot closest to the boys. As she shut the engine off, the boys were already surrounding the car. "Hey Will!" one boy named James shouted. He was the school's star soccer player.

"Hey James, how goes it?" she smiled back.

Willa and Mickey got out of the car they giggled and started walking towards the mall. Once they got inside, it was hectic getting to a store in one piece. The mall was full of Saturday morning shoppers. After twenty minutes of pushing through crowds, they finally made it to Willa's favorite store, Hollister. Willa was looking on one side of the store with only a group of three snobby girls close by. As Willa was bending over, looking at some shoes on a shelf, the girls bumped into her hard, trying to shove her over. Willa tripped and fell backwards. It was to her surprise when she fell into strong, cool, arms that steadied her. She quickly turned around to me the emerald gaze of the waiter from the Italian restaurant.

"Hey, I remember you!" Willa said in that too fast way she often spoke when she was nervous. "You were our waiter," she stopped.

"Yes, my name is Riley. Those girls were pretty rude just then. Are you okay, or do I need to call an ambulance? Because I will," he said in his amazing voice.

"Um..." she said, searching his emerald eyes for her lost words, "Oh, my name is Willa, and I guess I'm okay, you just surprised me. I didn't see anyone else over here...Thank You," she said finally.

"Oh, I was just, I'm kinda hard to notice sometimes," he stammered, "Can I buy you some coffee or something?" he asked hopefully.

"You do remember the man I was with, don't you?" she hinted.

"I do, I remember him well. It's just coffee, not a marriage proposal," he smirked.

She stood looking into his emerald eyes, obviously a mistake, trying to remember his question. When he finally looked away, she smiled and looked down.

"Yes, maybe coffee would be alright, for the man who saved my desperate excuse for a life," she smiled.

"Good, I'm happy you decided that way. I mean, I _did_ save your life and all," he said with honesty filling his words.

"Oh, but my friend Mickey-"

"She can come too," he cut her off.

She smiled her sweet smile, "I'll get her," she said. Willa turned away and let her smile spread over her smooth features. She walked over to where Mickey stood.

"What? Did Julius call or something? I knew he would, he loves you too much to stay mad at you like this, especially over something stupid like some guys eyes," Mickey said, not looking away from the jeans she had picked out.

"Um...Mick, his eyes are _emerald_ and um,"

"What she is trying to say is: Would you like to join us for a cup of coffee, Mickey," came a smooth voice from behind Willa. At that, Mickey looked up, very surprised.

"Um, I- I don't think so, you two go ahead. I have a lot of trying on clothes, that I can't afford, to do,"

Willa was shocked. She must know. She _must_ see his deep emerald eyes, she has to know this is the guy. She was also very grateful, and Mickey must have seen it in her eyes, because as soon as the boys back was turned, she smiled a deviant smile and gave Willa a two thumbs up.

They walked for a few minutes until they came to Mocha Joe's, in the South Wing of the mall.

"Hello, Welcome to Mocha Joe's. What can I steam up for you today?" the lady behind the counter said specifically to Riley.

"Willa, what would you like?" Riley said, never taking his eyes off of her.

"Um... a bottle of water please," she said to the lady.

"And for you?" she said, again to Riley, never even acknowledging that she had heard Willa.

"A small decaf, that's it." he said in a nonchalant tone. Willa was busy watching the people walking through the mall, hoping that Riley didn't realize she was distracting herself from his gaze.

"Three dollars and ninety-four cents please," she returned with their drinks. He handed her a five dollar bill and told her she could keep the change. The two walked over to a two-person table and sat down.

"Willa, are you in love with Julius?" he said suddenly in a very important tone.

"Wh-What? Why are you asking me this?" she asked surprised, and suddenly very paranoid.

"Willa, look at me, Julius-"

"How do you know his name? I never told you his name. Not once did I ever say his name!" she interrupted, her voice suddenly growing louder. She didn't know what it was, but something about Riley speaking Julius' name, wasn't right, she could feel it.

"Willa, I need you to look at me, and listen very carefully to what I have to say. Just do that for me," he paused for a moment, to gather his thoughts. "Willa, he and I are vampires. He is losing his control over the thirst. _He wants your blood!" _He hissed.

Willa stopped, regret choking her so badly she thought she might be sick. She began to feel dizzy. "We are done. Take your water back, I don't owe you anything. I never want to see you again." She was rambling, and she knew that but, she had to get away. "Good-bye Riley," she said and walked away. She called Mickey and told her to be at the car as soon as she could because they were leaving. When she got to her car, she looked Mickey in the face and told her to get in the car as she climbed in.

"Willa, What happened?" Mickey said in that overprotective tone she got when something was wrong with Willa. Willa's tired spun as she sped out of the parking lot.

"WILLA! SLOW DOWN!" she was yelling now. Willa threw a fierce look at Mickey then back to the road. The speedometer slowly began to decrease, 115... 105... 95... 80... 70. Then Willa hit the brakes so quickly that it flung Mickey forward, as the car slid onto the shoulder of the highway. Willa began to cry. Mickey was in shock but, she hugged her best friend any way. Then, Willa sat up, wiped her tears, and threw the car into drive quickly making her way into the lane. Mickey, still holding her arms out, laid them down and mumbled something under her breathe that sounded a lot like "bipolar". The next thing she knew, they were in front of Mickey's house.

"Good-bye Mickey. I will see you at school," Willa said without looking away from the windshield.

"Willa...call me if you need to talk," with that, she got out of the car. Willa pulled up at her own house, got out of her car, and began to look around the yard again. The gardener was gone now.


	4. Chapter 4

1For the next few days, Willa did not leave her room, did not use her phone, and she did not sleep. On the fourth day, she turned her phone on and it immediately began to ring.

"Hello," she said in a raspy voice.

"Will? I've been trying to get a hold of you for days! I've been so worried. Mickey called me and told me everything. I'm almost to your house now," Julius, sweet, loving Julius. She had forgotten all about him.

"Okay," she said, then hung up.

Five minutes later, Julius bounded through Willa's bedroom door, and over to her bed. He swept her up in his arms and kissed her forehead.

"Julius," she said.

"Yes?"

"Who is Riley?"

"What?" he said, shocked, this was obviously not what he had expected.

"Are you two vampires? Is that how he knows you? Am I your territory? Something you just want to keep to yourself?" He just sat there stunned, then he began to laugh so that he had to sit her down on the bed.

"WHAT are you talking about love?" he asked, still laughing.

She began to cry and he held her, resting his jaw line against her throat. A low growl filled the room,

"Get away from her," Riley warned.

"How did _you_ get in here?" Willa whispered, terrified.

"Get away from her," he repeated.

Julius stood up, and Riley lunged at him, Willa let out a petrified scream. Then they could hear Mr. Rosenly pounding up the stairs to her room. Riley debated his actions, he knew her father would be here soon, but, could he leave her there? Or did he have time to take her and get away? Riley disappeared through the open window, just as her father burst through the door. Willa was standing petrified next to her bed. Julius was sprawled out in the floor, about ten feet away from Willa.

"What is going on in here?" her father growled. Before he could say anything else, Willa began to blurt something out.

"Oh daddy! It was terrible! It had claws, and razor sharp teeth, oh and it was just so icky daddy!" her father stared at Julius, then back to Willa in disbelief, "and daddy, Juls was trying to catch it and he, he just couldn't! Icky mice! Icky icky!"

Then he let out a sigh of relief, "Mice" he chuckled. "I'll get the exterminator on the phone this afternoon," with that, her turned and left, still chuckling.

"Mice?" Julius said, "of all the things, mice?"

"What was I supposed to say? 'Oh daddy, a big asshole climbed through my window, attacked my brave, loyal, sexy boyfriend, then jumped back out of my window!'" she said in a mock terror voice.

"Oh, he's sexy is he? This brave and loyal boyfriend of yours," he asked, climbing to his feet finally.

"Yes, very. He's sweet and devoted too," she said taking a few steps towards him.

"Does he spoil you?" he asked, only three feet away now.

"Yes," she replied, moving ever closer.

"Do you love him?" he whispered in her ear, sliding his arms around her.

"Yes," she whispered back, pressing her lips to his. He held her for a moment and then pulled back suddenly.

"Will, go with me to the cabin? We have a week off of school, I'm sure your father wants you to see the world, come on, go with me please?" he begged, more hopeful than he anticipated.

"Juls... I don't know,"

"Oh please, you will love it there!" he pleaded.

"Okay, I'll talk to my dad,"

"Good, I will come by later. I have some things to do before we leave. We can be there in two days!" he said, pulling her close, kissing her again.

"But, right now, I've got to get going if this is going to happen," he said unwillingly.

"Call me," she pleaded.

"Tomorrow," he promised.

Now he was pulling her to her bed. He picked her up, pulled back the blankets, and slid her between the silk sheets. Setting her down, he pulled the blankets over her and kissed her forehead.

"Sleep now, talk to your father in the morning," he said quietly, and walked out of her room quietly, closing the door behind him. She listened to him walk down the stairs, say goodnight to her father, and walk out the front door.


	5. Chapter 5

1The next morning, Willa woke from an uneasy sleep. All night she had tossed and turned, dreaming of Julius and Riley. She saw Riley pounce on Julius, over and over again. The same terrified scream filling the room every time. She actually felt relieved when she woke up to her phone reading six o'clock a.m. When she realized the window was closed, she smiled, thinking of how Julius wanted to protect her. Then, she made her way downstairs in a pink pajama shorts set that she didn't remember putting on.

"Good morning daddy, mother," she sand as she skipped into the kitchen.

"Good morning Princess," said her father with what could only be described as a father's adoration for his daughter.

"Daddy," she said, kissing him on the cheek, " Julius' family is going on spring holiday to their cabin and they have invited me. May I go?" she asked in the most innocent voice she could muster up. He immediately stiffened.

"When?"

"His parents say two days, so that we don't miss any school," she smiled sweetly.

"Julius' wants to get me familiarized with a forest so that if I ever get lost in one, I can survive." Her father chuckled at the thought of seeing his beautiful daughter in a forest.

"Daddy?" she smiled her sweet smile again, batting her big blue eyes this time. "Pleeeease,"

He hesitated, looking at her mother who from behind the paper said, "Yes, let the little whore bag tramp go to a cabin in the middle of the woods with her too old boyfriend,"

"You know what princess, you _may_ go. Have a good time, take lots of pictures for me," he said smiling that terrified smile that said 'Please come back, it scares me when you go out with him' his eyes gave him away. She squealed and hugged him around the neck. She whispered in his ear, "I'll come home, I promise,"

"I know," he said, trying not to let his voice crack. "But one day, you are going to walk out of that door forever,"

"Praise that day!" came her mothers voice again.

"YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" his voice boomed, "she is _my_ little girl, and goddamn it, you are going to start treating her like it!" Her mothers paper dropped, revealing her dropped jaw.  
"Princess, you should probably get to your room and get a head start on packing. You have a lot to accomplish before you leave in the morning" her father said without removing his arm from around her or looking away from his wife.  
"But Daddy," she started.  
"No, just get going princess," this time he looked at her and smiled.  
"Thank you, daddy,"  
"You're welcome princess," he kissed her forehead and sent her off to pack. She got back to her room and picked up her phone, dialing Julius' number.  
"Hello love, how are you?" he answered smoothly.  
"I'm just dandy, how are you?" she smiled to herself as she stalled.  
"Okay Ms. Rosenly, please tell me you're stalling to drive me crazy because you already know you can go with me, because I'm not going without you. Not with that psycho stalker following you. No way," he said matter of factly.  
"Juls," her smile grew, "I'm going,"

"Really?" he asked astonished, "That's great, I'm so excited. We'll go fishing, make bonfires, lay under the stars, go swimming, oh it's going to be great!"

"Juls," she giggled, "I love you, do I need to bring anything special?"

"Just your gorgeous personality and a swimming suit."

"Okay," she said.

"Oh, and Will,"  
"Yes?"

"I love you too, I'll see you in the morning,"

Willa hung up her phone and walked down to the storage room to get her bags for the trip in the morning. She had to drag two medium sized traveling bags up the stairs to her room, and she used an old ballet duffel bag for matching shoes, accessories, and bathroom supplies. After three hours of matching outfits and finding the right accessories, she was done. Now, it was one o'clock, nineteen hours until she would leave. To waste some time, she went back downstairs to sit with her father. He was on a business call, but, as soon as she walked through the door he spoke into the phone,

"Oh, I will have to continue this call later. Good-bye." He said, not giving the person on the other line a chance to object. While he looked at his daughter, a smile played on his lips.

"You look like something is on your mind princess," he said, noticing her frown.

"I'm just excited and I have nothing to pass the time," she said with a bitter sweet look on her face.

"I know that it's tough, but you'll be gone first thing in the morning," he said with that 'please come home again' look again.

"Daddy, it's only a week. I don't want you to worry. I will call you every night. I'll take loads of pictures, and I'll be back before you know it," she smiled wholly.

He smiled, "Princess, I have a early business meeting in the morning. So, I won't be able to be here when you leave. I love you though," he said.

"Daddy, let's go out for dinner tonight, just me and you," she pleaded.   
"Okay, sure. Let's go to that Italian place you love so much. I've never been there," he suggested.


	6. Chapter 6

1That evening, they went to _Giardino Ristorante_. Riley was working but he waited on another table not to far away. He threw meaningful glances her way at every chance he got. The night went by smoothly. They laughed and talked about what they would do over the next week, while they ate. Then, that time for the bill came and her father quickly paid so they could get a good night's sleep. The ride home was extremely different from any ride she had with her father in a very long time. The two of them laughed just like father and daughter, instead of like lawyer and client. They pulled into the drive way, and parked the car. They got out, and continued their laughter and conversation while they walked to the front door.

"Yes, yes, your mother is ver 'self aware'," he said chuckling. Willa smiled back at her father. They finished their conversation as they walked into the main room of their home. Mr. Rosenly looked down at his daughter and pulled her close into a hug.

"I love you, be safe," he whispered and walked away leaving Willa with a sense of pride she hadn't really experienced before. She then ran up the marble stair way, down the hall lined with statues and paintings, she burst through her door, and giggled as she closed it quietly behind her. She quickly stripped off her clothes and put on another of Julius' shirts. Then she padded over to her bed and fell onto it. She began to giggle again, and rolled around several times until she rolled right into something cold and stone like. Willa twisted her body to face whatever she had rolled into. She tried to scream but a solid, cold hand muffled it to the volume of a whisper. She was now face to face with Riley. Tears began springing from big blue eyes.

"If I take my hand away, are you going to scream?" her eyes panicked. She didn't know what to do, she looked into his eyes and saw that they were sincere. She shook her head 'yes' and tried to stop crying. He removed his hand very slowly and helped her to sit up, unrestrained.

"Why are you in my room?" she asked quietly, panic lacing her voice.

"I need you to listen to me, it's very important, please," he begged, his eyes revealing nothing but truth and pain. For a moment she lost herself in those tormented emerald eyes, the whole world just falling away.

"Okay," she replied, "I'll listen." He sighed a sigh of relief, and jumped straight into his story.

"So, you see, you are in trouble, terrible, danger," he finished.

She looked at him, trying to form her sentences, and that's when he kissed her. At first, she wasn't sure what she should do. Then, she did what she felt was necessary, she gave in to her instincts and kissed him back. He placed one leg on each side of her waist, straddling her, and pinned her arms down to the bed. She leaned her head back on the pillow. Then, as if it were all a dream, his lips, his scent, replaced by thin air. For a moment, she felt tears sting her eyes in embarrassment, until she heard the grunts and thumps coming from the floor next to her bed. She looked over to see Julius on to of Riley, then Riley on top of Julius. She froze, torn between her loving boyfriend of five years, and the mysterious stranger who just appeared in her bed. Then, before she could let her tears fall, Riley ran from the room, jumping out of the window. Then, Julius ran just as quickly to her side and caught the first tear that escaped from her eye. She stared at him in astonishment, not quite understanding what had just happened, she let him pull her into his cool embrace. They curled up under her blankets, and she softly cried herself to sleep with his arms snugly around her.


	7. Chapter 7

1The next morning she woke up to the beautiful sun shining through her windows. She pulled herself up to a sitting position. Then as she was trying to determine whether or not last night was a dream, she saw him, perched on the edge of her bed, looking incredibly heartbroken. Last night she hadn't even thought of apologizing. It was Juls for gods sake. So, she did the only thing that came to her in times like these, she cried. He rushed over to her, his anger growing, and he hugged her. Resting his chin on her head, he began to speak;

"Goddamn it!" he roared, "I should've been here, I should have stopped him!"

That's when she realized that he wasn't angry towards her. He was angry with himself. She didn't know what to say. All she could do was cry. After some time had gone by, he got up and loaded his car with their supplies for the weekend. Willa was still in such an emotional state that Julius wasn't surprised that all she had done was shower and change clothes. All the while Willa showered, she was thinking about last night's conversation.

_"Please believe me, he is a vampire. So am I, but, I am trying to protect you. He is losing control, he's losing his hold on the thirst. I am not trying to take you away from him. I am just concerned for you. I just want you to be alive to love him."_

After their conversation, Willa had no doubt that Riley was telling the truth. But it was still so hard to grasp. She didn't know what to do. How to handle what she had just been told. They hadn't gotten much past that part of the conversation. She was torn. What should she do? _'My boyfriend has been keeping a huge secret'_ she weighed this on one hand, and her faith in Riley on another.

Willa finishedher shower and walked to her room in just a towel. As she walked in, Julius turned from the window to look at her. He instantly noticed a shiver run through her body. He pulled off his coat, wrapped it tightly around her, and pulled her into his slightly cold embrace. _'cold'_ embrace. He was cold. His whole body, freezing. Had it always been this way? Had all of the times he offered her his coat been because it would do nothing for him? Was Julius really a vampire? All of these questions raced so quickly through her mind that she became faint. Julius walked her to the bed and dressed her. Willa blurred in and out of the room the whole time. Finally he finished and walked her to the car, sat her in her seat, and crossed the front to his own door. Soon, they were on their way.

_'I thought I would sleep the whole way. I guess I was wrong. The road turned out to be too bumpy, even for the Volvo. I looked up, Julius looked tired. His face was like stone._

_"Hey," I said, slightly groggy. He looked over at me, his features softening. _

_"How was your sleep," he soothed, sliding his hand up and down my leg before letting it rest on my thigh._

_"Good, I feel very refreshed," I lied. I knew he wasn't in the mood to worry about me._

_"Liar," he whispered. I smiled out of the window._

_"Where are we?" I whined slightly. _

_"We're almost there. The turn is coming up," he said, amused by my attempt to hide my impatience._

_"Good," just as I said it, we came to a barely visible dirt turnoff. He turned, the road was so terrible that, I thought we were going to bottom out. He must have noticed because he took my white-knuckled hand, from the seat, in his own and brought it to his mouth, kissing it gently. I smiled at his thought. But inside I was screaming. I mean, I was in the Canadian Mountains with a vampire._

_As we pulled into the drive way, I looked around. Who could've guessed that after thirty-seven miles of mountains, there would be a cabin back here. Certainly not my father,' _she thought.

Then he pulled her out of the car and onto the ground next to him. They laughed, as he pulled her on top of him. He kissed her gently and whispered "I love you," in her hear. She got up and began to run as fast as she possibly could. She ran into the forest, anywhere to get away from this monster, her monster boyfriend. She thought she had gotten away until she felt cool, steel like arms wrap around her middle and pull her into Julius' chest. He laughed and kissed her, not even out of breath. She knew he didn't realize why she was running, because he kissed her. He thought this was a joke.

"Why did you run?" he smirked, searching her eyes for a hint of truth, as if they might hold an answer for her. She stalled for a moment, racking her brain for a response, something, anything.

She smiled mischievously, "so you would follow," she kissed him back.


	8. Chapter 8

1They spent the last hours of the day unloading, opening up and cleaning the cabin, and gathering firewood. Finally, closer to sunset, they finished all of the chores and Julius couldn't get a fire started. So they spent the night inside of the cabin, instead of outside underneath the stars. When Julius woke up, Willa was nowhere to be seen. So he walked out of the bedroom, into the living room. No Willa. He checked the bathroom and spare bedroom. No Willa. So, as unlikely as it seemed, he checked the kitchen. No Willa. Though he knew he would never find her in there because she wouldn't eat anything that she couldn't eat right out of the fridge. Willa didn't believe in microwaves. Julius was out of ideas, where could she be? He was starting to panic when he heard a scream coming from outside. Julius ran out of the door, his eyes racing in all directions. Then he saw her and couldn't help but double over in laughter. There she was on the dock that went out 50 feet over the water, with a fishing pole in her hand, tangled up in fishing line with the hook caught on the back of her Abercrombie sweatshirt. She let out another scream in frustration which just made Julius laugh harder. Finally, after a few more minutes of watching her struggle and squeal in frustration, he went and helped her. As soon as he unhooked and untangled her, she pushed him into the water. His weight causing the splash to soak her completely. His head bobbed up above the water and he shook the water out of his hair, laughing because she was now pouting because she got herself all wet trying to punish him for laughing at her. Willa stomped back into the cabin to change into dry clothes, when she came back out, her hair was pulled up in a hair scrunchie, and she wore a pair of short khaki shorts and a bikini bathing suit top.

"JERK!" she yelled as she picked up the fishing pole and began to rebait the hook.

Julius just sat on the edge of the dock, fishing pole in hand, laughing at her.

"How did you sleep?" he asked, holding back laughter.

She shot him a look, but realized he was trying to change the subject, "I didn't sleep well, but, that's because I kept having nightmares about A BIG HOOK CHASING ME!" she said, laughing this time.

He laughed back and they just sat in silence for a while, just watching their lines, well Willa was watching her line, Julius was watching Willa in her shorts and top. They spent the day just like that, usually quiet, but they would strike up a conversation every now and again. They caught a few fish. At the end of the day, they went into the kitchen and Julius cleaned a few fish to show Willa how to do it, then he made his way out to the fire to get that going. Willa had gone through all of the fish he had left for her. She carefully scaled, and decapitated them, cutting right behind the front fin. Then, she gutted the fish. This part was particularly difficult for her, mostly because it was gross, but, partly because she had a fish when she was five.

Julius, impressed by successfully lighting a good fire, walked into the cabin just as she was finishing cleaning up the kitchen.

"Will,-" he stopped, suddenly very dizzy.

"Yes," she called, walking out from the kitchen, drying her clean hands on a dishtowel. As soon as she laid eyes on him, she knew something wasn't right. He was standing there, clutching his head, and holding onto the fireplace for support. She ran over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. This must have set off an alarm because he wrenched his shoulder from her reach.She hesitated a moment, her gut telling her to run, her heart telling her to stay.

"Juls, what's wrong?" she asked, deciding to stay, her voice shanking. Julius stood up taller than she had ever seen before, his back still facing her, and he told her to get outside. Willa, then going with her first instinct, walked quickly out of the front door. As soon as the door closed behind her, she broke into a run. Not knowing where to go, she ran to the fire, and just sat down on her sleeping bag, rocking back and forth. She couldn't help but wonder what Julius was doing, when suddenly he sat down on her sleeping bag next to her. Willa was so startled, she jumped to her feet.

"I'm sorry if I scared you," he said in a dark whisper, "I just don't like to be touched when I have a headache." Willa looked down into his face, his eyes were false, but, what could she do? She definitely couldn't outrun him. She let him slip his fingers inside of hers and pull her back down next to him. She didn't know why, but, she felt safe. She knew she should be afraid, because this was not Julius and something was obviously terribly wrong. Once she sat down, it wasn't close enough for Julius, so he pulled her into his body in a laying position, her back to his chest. They laid there for some time, but the longer they laid there, the more tired Willa became. At some point in time, Willa fell asleep. She woke to his soft kisses on her cheekbone, making her giggle slightly. Then the kisses slowly moved down her neck, to the area just above her collar bone.

"Willa," Julius whispered in her ear, "I love you," he said louder, his voice cracking as she felt a cold tear fall onto her chest, just below her collar bone. She knew something wasn't right now, she tried to turn and look at him, but she felt his strong hold stop her. Then, she felt something incredibly sharp painfully pierce her neck. She let out a pain filled scream that was momentarily muffled by Julius' stone like hand. Not knowing what to do, she elbowed him as hard as she could in his ribs. Hearing something crack, and feeling his icy grip melt away, she was on her feet running sooner than she had realized what had just happened. She heard a voice, which she knew to be her own, scream, "HELP ME! Someone please help me!" She felt the tears trickling down her checks, as the warm blood from her neck ran down onto her shirt. She couldn't think, she couldn't see, she had no idea where she was going. Then, all of a sudden, the familiar stone cold grip around her waist again. This time it held no comfort. She tried to scream, but, his hand over her mouth forced her scream back down.


	9. Chapter 9

1"Willa, it's Riley," he whispered in her ear. " I followed you here. I didn't trust Julius. I know you're scared and I know you are in pain, but, I'm here. I will protect you. Do you understand? Shake your head, yes or no." The instructions were so simple, how could complying be so difficult?She hesitated for a moment, then shook her head 'yes'.

"Good," he continued, "I'm not going to move my hand because he will hear even the slightest noise. He bit you?" It was more rhetorical than anything, but, still she shook her head 'yes' again.

"Willa, I am going to take you away. Far away from here, from him." She shook her head 'yes' again, though they both knew it was unnecessary. Then he felt her warm tears on his hand. If only he knew that these were tears of comfort, of thanks. Then, he scooped her up in his arms tightly, told her to close her eyes, and he began to run. Being a vampire, Riley ran at a little over two hundred miles per hour, without breaking a sweat. When she felt the wind stop hitting her face fiercly, she knew he had stopped, and she opened her eyes to look around. She saw a smile dinner off to the left, and a small yellow BMW to the right.

Just as he began to walk towards the BMW, the driver's door opened and Julius stepped out. Willa began to scream. Riley didn't bother to stop her. Julius' eyes were on her, and she definitely knew it. Julius slowly walked towards Riley.

"You dare touch her?" he growled.

"You bit her. YOU bit HER. I told you that you would. And what did you say to me? You said _'I love her too much to touch her'_ that's what you said to me. Do you remember what my response to that, Julius?" he continued, "I do. I told you, that if you ever touched her, ever hurt her in any way, I would kill you." Julius stopped short.

"Do you have nothing to say for what you have done?" Riley spat in disgust.

Julius turned his back on Riley and said, "I will get her back, Riley, I will," before running off almost as fast as Riley had. Riley just walked to his BMW. Willa still in his arms, he opened the passenger door, sat her down, and buckled her in before closing the door and walking to his own seat. He sat down, turned the key, and the engine came roaring to life. They spun out of the dirt parking lot. As he drove south he pulled out his phone and dialed. The phone read "Calling 'Uncle Carlisle' ".

"Hello," came his uncle's voice.

Then Riley began to speak in such a fast paced voice that the only thing Willa understood was, "We'll be there in two days." Then he hung up. Willa was starting to get dizzy from loss of blood. She opened her eyes and immediatly looked away from the window.

"How fast are we going?" she asked calmly.

"You shouldn't worry about that. How are you feeling?" he asked, risking a glance at her.

"Fine," she replied dishonestly.

"I'm so sorry, Willa. We need to patch you up. I tried to protect you, but, I was too late."

She didn't know what to say. Here she was bleeding to death in some stranger's expensive car, and here he is trying to save her life.

"Get the first aid kit out of the glove compartment if you can," he said, "I'll clean you up when we stop," he said. Then he pulled over long enough to tightly bandage her neck. Then Willa fell into such a deep sleep that when she finally did wake up, the car was parked outside of an old gas station and Riley was nowhere to be seen.


	10. Chapter 10

Willa began to panic. She began to feel dizzy; she didn't want to pass out again. She just wanted to find Riley. Willa opened the door and stepped out, trying not to stumble, she walked towards the gas station. As she walked, she tripped over the car bell and fell on her hands and knees. The shock of the fall hit her quick. She began to cry, she was embarrassed and she knew she couldn't do anything for herself anymore. She looked up into the face of an eccentric looking old man. With tears falling, she began to call Riley's name.

"Ma'am, are you okay?" the man asked her, reaching his hands out to grab her. She tried crawling towards the door, she could see Riley at the register.

"Riley!" she called, still crawling, tears streaming down her face.

"Ma'am?" the man said again. She ignored him.

"Riley," she half croaked, half whispered, as she collapsed.

When Willa came to again, she opened her eyes and they were driving. By the darkness, she could tell that it was very late into the night or very early into the morning. She wasn't sure which.

"Riley," she whispered, still dazed.

"Yes?" he said too emotional for his role in the situation.

Willa just smiled a loopy smile, and looked out of the window at the cars passing them by. She was very glad just to hear Riley's voice. She loved watching the trees pass outside of the car. She looked away from her window, and back to Riley.

"Riley?" she hesitated, "How long have you known me? Tell me honestly." she asked weakly.

"What?" he asked taken aback.

"How long have you known me? When did you first see me?" she repeated. He waited a moment before responding.

"Only a few years," he hesitated, "5 to be exact. I saw you for the first time when Julius took you on your first date. I didn't like you because you were taking him away from his own. He prefered you to us. But, then as I watched you grow over the years, I began to feel the need to protect you, to save you from everything, even Julius." he said quietly.

"Next question, how do you know Julius?" she asked, still loopy but more sharply.

Riley sighed deeply. "He has been my bestfriend for the the past 236 years. I've supported him in everything he's done, since the day I met him," he said firmly " until you." his voice began to shake but he looked sincere. Since he'd very thoroughly proved his purpose, she believed him.

"The moment that I sensed his strength dwindling, I told him. I warned him, that he would hurt you. He said he loved you too much, and I do believe he thought so. But in the end, if you don't feed, the hunger will drive you to madness," he drew in a long breath before finishing. "_I_ know." They sat in silence for a moment.

"Riley, why did you warn him? About me, I mean." She said this hesitantly, she almost feared the answer. Riley wasn't helping much, he was thinking, or maybe phrasing his response.

This caused Willa to explode, she was nervous enough without him making things worse. "Riley Cullen! Just because I'm dying doesn't mean I've suddenly caught amnesia! I remember the other night, you kissed-" she began to scream out in pain.

"Willa?" he gasped as her scream continued painfully. "Willa!" Riley exclaimed. Riled immediately pulled out his cell phone and dialed Carlisle.

"Yes?" came his uncles 'all knowing' voice.

"Carlisle! She is screaming! She's in pain! She won't answer me and, and she can't! What do I do?" Riley yelled into the phone, his voice revealing his fear.

"Riley," Carlisle started in a calm voice "you can't do anything. She is changing. You went through the same thing when you changed. The only thing you can do is try to keep anyone from hearing her." He continued in a calm voice.

"But I can't just let her go through this kind of pain, there must be something I can do for her," he begged.

"Riley, she has three days. This is not the worst, by far. You need to either purify her blood yourself, or hurry up and get her here so I can do it."

"Okay," Riley said making up his mind. "I'm going to bring her to you. I've risked too much trying to save her life, all of these years, to risk throwing it all away now. I'll be there in two days." He replied more calm, regaining his authoritative attitude. He ended the call. Willa had stopped screaming by now. As he glanced towards her, a beam of light from a passing car, washed over her features. Riley's eyes grew wide and he pushed the peddle harder towards the floor. The beautiful golden blonde of Willa's hair was quickly being replaced by a color so black it resembled an oil spill, sweeping silently down her shoulders.

"Oh shit," he whispered. He remembered being told that when specific vampires bit someone, it caused the new vampire to get what could only be described as a very painful cancer. The symptoms were varied, but, the one symptom they could always count on was the new vampire's appearance. It would almost always change first. Along with the appearance, the person's attitude and morals would change. The virus that was passed on was a watered down version of the purist evil that ever existed. The process was proved irreversible, but if the infected were to get the antidote in time, it would save whatever had not changed about the person yet. If their attitude were changed, sometimes there was nothing left to do but eliminate them. This was something that Riley would not allow to happen.

A few hours passed by quickly, Riley took the silence as a time when he could begin planning the last crucial moments that would either save or destroy Willa. Once he had exhausted every idea that crossed his vivid imagination, he turned to his phone again. He began dialing a foreign number, a number he hadn't dialed in a long time.

"Hello?" came the inexpectant voice of his cousin. They had a history, that was for sure. The last time they had talked, it was Thanksgiving thirty years ago. Edward, Riley's cousin, had found a new human obsession. Riley disagreed entirely upon taking a human as a toy, much less an obsession. They had fought on the topic, and Riley had stormed out in an unbelievable rage.

"Edward, it's Riley. I need your help,"

"I can't help you," Edward said sternly.

"THIS IS NOT ABOUT YOU AND ME!" Riley bellowed.

"Riley, Carlisle has told us all of the consequences if we reveal any of his secrets." Edward said, regret in his tone. _Willa opened her eyes. She could see every beautiful color, even the smallest creatures. She was awed by everything she hadn't been able to see before. Then, a voice pulled her out of her beautiful intoxication. _"Edward," Riley gasped, " I can't listen to her scream anymore. I love her far too much, and this is killing me."

"You're right. You can't. But, unless you want her to die, to lose everything that you admire so much about her, then you have to. I felt the same way when I went through this with Bella. I love her so much now, and I'm glad that she's going to spend eternity by my side, but, I miss her blush, the warmth of her touch, the peach color of her skin… Just hurry up, okay?" He choked out, with obvious sorrow in his voice.

"Yeah, I guess," Riley's voice cracked then Willa began to scream again, "I've gotta go," and Riley ended the call.

"Willa, shhh, its okay," he tried to sooth, "This will all be over, very soon." Willa clenched her eyes shut, and let out another pain filled scream as her body jerked, and her eyes flew open, revealing memorizing purple irises.

"RILEY!" she screamed.

"Yes Willa, I'm right here. You're going to be okay," Riley glanced back towards the road and slammed on the breaks as he realized why Willa's scream was so panicked.


	11. Chapter 11

Julius stood in the middle of the road with Mickey tight in his grip. Now the only sound was Willa's failed attempts to muffle her screams, and the quiet hum of the cars engine. Riley looked at Willa and said "Stay put." It was an order, unlike anything he'd ever said to her before, he was afraid. Riley swiftly got out of the car. His movements were like honey, unbelievably slow to watch him move away from you, but the sweetest once he was coming back to you.

"I told you I would get her back, Riley," Julius spat through gritted teeth.

"Julius, you are killing her! YOU ARE KILLING WILLA!" Riley bellowed.

"No, I am giving her a new life," he paused, malice shining through his eyes, "She will be reborn in the light. Then, she will be my queen forever," he whispered, "my beautiful queen."

"Julius! Don't do this!" Riley threatened, preparing himself to sacrifice what was necessary to save Willa. Even if that meant losing Willa's best friend, who lay terrified and whimpering in Julius' arms.

"Julius!" Willa bellowed from twenty feet behind Riley.

"Willa, GET BACK IN THE CAR!" Riley begged.

"Julius, Give me two things and I will put my life in your complete control."

"WILLA! GET BACK IN THE CAR, NOW!" Riley screamed again. Willa began to sob as she yelled over Riley's deafening rage.

"All I want is for you to give Mickey over to Riley, unharmed, and for you to leave Riley and his loved ones alone, forever." Riley was staring at her, tears of disbelief forming in his eyes. Everything he'd done, all that he had worked for, gone. He was going to lose her. She was giving herself up after everything they'd been through. Didn't she understand _"I love her"_.

Julius looked from Riley to Willa for a moment. He was enjoying the thought, Riley had worked so hard to protect her, and here she was, handing herself over to the enemy. Then, he looked as if he were exhausting all plans they could've come up with. After a few moments, he finally looked content.

"Oh, that sounds like a fair trade," came Julius' malicious voice, and he flung Mickey to Riley and ran to Willa, wrapping his arms around her middle.  
"Riley, I love you," she thought, staring into his deep emerald eyes.

Then, Willa began to scream in pain again, Julius dropped her in surprise, Riley ran quickly to catch her, before she hit the ground.

"See Julius, you can't even take care of her when she's like this," Riley said quietly, tears stinging his eyes as he spoke.

"Riley?" Willa clung to him, taking in all of him.

"Riley it burns, it hurts, fire is in my veins Riley, Riley!" she cried quietly. Riley kissed her forehead.

"You're going to be okay Will, I promise," Riley whispered, Julius the scene.

Then, before he could be stopped Julius' face twisted in anger. He ran at full speed back over to Mickey, gripping her head on either side.

"Witness now the price you pay," he said as he twisted her head in the full one-hundred and eighty degrees.  
"I will have her back," as he said this he turned and ran.

"Nooo!" Willa screamed, she ran to her friend's lifeless body and began sobbing.

_"This is all my fault, what do I do?" _came Riley's voice.

Willa held Mickey's hand for a moment before she turned and walked to Riley. She wrapped her arms around him and whispered, "No, it isn't."

"What isn't?" Riley looked down into her purple eyes, puzzled.

"It's not your fault," she said hiding her face in his chest.

"But I thought-"

"WELL IT'S NOT!" she snapped, tears flowing from her eyes again. Riley breathed in deeply, and pulled away an arms width from her, he looked into her eyes.

"Willa, I just _thought_ that. I never said it." Willa looked up at Riley, realizing what he meant. She hadn't heard him speak. She'd just read his mind, she quickly looked away. After a few moments of searching the horizon for the answer, Willa looked up at Riley.

"What do we do with the body?" she whispered.

"Wh-What? Willa, she is your friend, it's okay to cry, to grieve," Riley stammered astonished at her stony expression.

"I'll do that later," she said walking towards the dark figure laying in the road. She paused as she looked down on what was once her best friend. Riley quickly ran over and scooped up the lifeless form, in his arms. He quickly walked over to his car and put the body in his trunk. He closed the trunk door and was surprised to see Willa standing next to the car, staring at him.

"We should get a room," she said walking over to him, and running her hands over his chest, and resting them on the base of his neck. Riley hesitated for a moment, he knew what was happening and he needed to stop it, whether or not he wanted to.

"No Willa, You are changing too quickly. We have to get you to Carlisle," he said, using her transformation as an excuse. Willa pinned Riley to the car and kissed him passionately, running her hands up his chest and down his back.

"We _need_ a room," she begged, kissing his neck.

"Willa. This is the effect of your changing hormones. It's not really you," he said as she continued to kiss his neck. "Willa, I have to get you to Carlisle or you will die," he said with more fear in his voice, finding her hands with his own, and pulling them down in front of her.

"Fine," she gave in, "but, as soon as I'm better," she warned.

Riley smiled at this, "as soon as you're better," he agreed as he walked her to her side of the car and closed the door behind her.


	12. Chapter 12

After what Willa had just witnessed, losing her best friend, she couldn't sleep. She just watched the trees whip past in blurs of dark greens and browns. The sun was starting to rise when she finally just gave in and sat up in her seat. Instead of keeping her watch on the trees, she turned to Riley. He looked like he was in a pensive mood. She just wanted to let the tears fall, as she turned back to the window.  
"Do you remember any holidays? From your human life, I mean," she watched his expression in the dark. His facial features didn't change, she wasn't even sure that he'd heard her until he took one hand from the wheel and placed it on hers.

"Just a few," he said, throwing her a sideways glance, "They were pretty quiet, normal." The word normal rang clear in her mind. All of her holidays were spent with her parents drunken friends following each other around her house talking of things she'd become familiar with through her fathers business calls. She smiled at the thought of Riley being normal, her eyes saddened because she knew that she would never have all of him, she would never have that part.

"Did you have any pets?" she looked like a child in this light. Her eyes were low, and her fingers playing with a string from her shirt. Riley looked at Willa with curiosity.

"Why are you so interested? That was then, this is now," he asked puzzled. She looked up, not expecting a question for a response.

"Just curious I guess. I never really got a normal life, I wasn't allowed to have any pets, so I guess I was just trying to find out how you lived, normally." Her eyes were honest. He must have decided it was an acceptable response because he just looked at her and smiled.

"A dog once. I named him Scottie." She laughed at this. It was so cute, so sweet, and innocent. She'd never expected this. Maybe she might be a little more expectant of "Killer" or "Demon", but, not "Scottie".

"Aw, how sweet," she cooed, but the moment was interrupted by another screaming outburst. Riley just held her hand as she squeezed his so hard, he thought she might've crushed all of the bones.

"You're okay, I promise, you'll be okay," he soothed.   
After a few moments she stopped screaming. She tried to catch her breath, but it took her a few extra minutes. When she did finally catch her breath, she looked at Riley with tears in her eyes.

"Baby, what's wrong?" he asked concerned. Willa sniffed, and tried to hold back the tears that threatened to spill over.

"Riley, when is this going to stop? What if it doesn't stop? What if we don't make it in time?" she asked, trying not to let the tears fall, but failing miserably. Riley just took a deep breath and her hand in his.

"Willa, if you think I would let you become a monster, you are incredibly wrong. Carlisle is not the only one who can save you from that fate. I just don't want to risk losing control. Willa, if it comes down to it, I would die a thousand deaths to save you from one," he hesitated a moment, "I love you Willa, that's why I warned Julius about you. That's why I've been following you in the shadows for five years, that's even why I work where I do," Riley's eyes were brimming with tears now. Willa looked away from Riley. She couldn't look at him, so instead she focused on the trees again. How could she have been so unaware of what was going on. She felt foolish. How couldn't she have seen everything that he'd done for her? She now held a new respect for the man who was saving her life. She had to hold back these tears, she couldn't let him see how naive she had been. She was beginning to fall in love with the trees that she turned her gaze towards, to escape the car.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed when she woke up. She didn't even remember falling asleep. All she knew was that she needed him to know what she knew.

"Riley," she whispered, "I love you too, and I don't know how I know, but, all I know for sure is," she took a deep breath trying to draw up courage, "I would give my life to spend forever with you." Riley looked at her with so many mixed feelings on his face, it was like they were all competing to be the main emotion. Just then, his phone rang, this gave Willa time to force her tears back.

"Hello," he answered slightly irritated.

"Riley," Edward whispered, "I had to go to Malaysia to get out of Carlisle's hearing distance, but, this is important," Riley just nodded his head listening intently.

"You're joking!" he accused, "You're serious? You're not kidding?" Riley looked baffled, "Okay, thanks," Riley laughed as he hung up the phone. Willa looked at Riley Expectantly.

Riley was walking out of the twenty-four hour Texaco gas station; he was holding a medium sized, brown, paper bag. Willa just watched him; she couldn't believe she hadn't seen this before, how he looked at her, and everything he did for her. She blushed in embarrassment. Riley looked at her, confused, as he reached the car. He knelt down in front of her legs, dangling out of her door. She smiled as she looked into his eyes, she knew she loved him. She watched him as he pulled out a bottle of water, and a bottle of extra strength Tylenol. Willa snorted with laughter.

"You've got to be kidding me?" she laughed, "Riley, my head randomly splits in half while spinning around one hundred eighty degrees, and you're giving me Tylenol?"

He laughed with her, "C'mon just try it, no harm no fowl?" He held out four pills and the bottle of water to her. She took it reluctantly.

"Edward said your head will just feel like a really bad migraine, and your veins like you have heartburn in them," Riley explained, so that she would know what to expect.

Soon, Willa drifted off into sleep, she figured it was just the Tylenol at work. She began to dream. Just images at first, then silent scenes, like from a movie. They were all just memories from her childhood. She woke silently from an effective sleep. She yawned and stretched as she read the clock. The green letters read nine seventeen a.m. She had slept a full eight hours without any interruptions.

Riley was standing outside of the car talking to some man. Willa stepped out of the car, taking in her surroundings.

"…So I take a right at that junction?" she heard Riley say.  
She walked over to them, "Sorry to interrupt guys, but, Riley, I'm going to find a bathroom."  
He nodded, then leaned in for a kiss, "Don't be long," he said as she kissed his lips.

"I won't," she replied.  
She walked to the door, a bell rang as she pushed it open. Some old pop song was playing on the speakers. With her hands shoved down in her pockets, she glanced around. The clerk was a middle aged Mexican man, he was reading a newspaper behind the counter.

"Good Morning," she said to the man as she walked towards the "Ladies" sign.  
"If you say so," he replied, not looking up from his paper.

She reached the bathroom and pushed the door open. As soon as she did, she was hit by a wave of nausea. The bathroom was disgusting; there was garbage all over the floor, mold on the walls, a shattered mirror, and the first toilet was over flowing. Willa had to cover her mouth and nose with her hand to lighten the dizziness that she felt. She made her way over to the last stall, avoiding as many puddles as possible. As she pushed the door open with her shoe, it made an awful squeak. The stall was cleaner than the floor if that said anything. She removed her hand from her mouth, holding her breath as she unzipped her pants and pulled her panties down. She tried to squat over the toilet without falling over, which she was doing a great job of so far. Just as she finished, a man walked into the bathroom with a foreign accent. She could see him through a crack in the stall. He was on his cell phone speaking in a different language. Willa pulled up her thong, and her pants after drying herself as best as possible. Just as she finished zipping her pants, the mans voice grew louder as he walked towards her stall and kicked the door open.

"There you are," he growled and grabbed her by the hair, dragging her out of the stall. He threw her to the floor. He was more upset about the germs than the fall.

"We were told you would come. Julius sends his love," he said right before kicking her in the face with his steel toed boot, knocking her further to the ground. She could see her own image in the puddle of toilet water that she had landed in. There was a small cut on her cheek, from his boot. She thought to herself, _"I feel sorry for you,"_ just as she began to scream.

Riley, still talking to the man, heard her scream and ran for the gas station. When he burst through the door, the Mexican man was leaning over the counter staring in the direction of the bathrooms. Riley ran in the direction in which the man was staring. He burst through the door to see a large man with a fist full of Willa's hair. Riley let out a low growl.

"I highly suggest that you let her go," Riley warned. The man laughed. He was three times bigger than Riley, and Riley was threatening him.

"You must be Riley. Oh yes, I've hear all about you and your infatuation. What will you do, Mr. Riley? Kick my shins?" the mans deep laughter filled the room as he turned back to Willa. Riley pounced on the man, his solid fist connecting with every inch of cold skin as possible. The man fell to the floor with Riley straddling his chest. Riley began to choke the man, using his position to his advantage. The lack of air seemed to have no effect on the man. Riley let out a menacing laugh at this.

"So, you're a vampire then?" Riley had some obvious humor in this.

"You cannot protect her forever, Julius will come for her," the man laughed.

"I will be waiting," Riley replied fiercely. "Willa, hand me a piece of that mirror," Riley said, holding his hand out. "As of now, your death will be quick, but, reach for her, or the glass and I'll make every second count." Willa put the glass in his hand. She turned away and heard the sickening sound of the glass cutting flesh, and a "clink" as it connected with the tiled floor.


End file.
